Sore ears following many dives

Good Day,

I tend to get sore inflamed ears if I dive several times in a few days. I've tried to treat it with ear drops and such, but doesn't seem to work.

Is there anything better I could be using?

In Jamaica 2 yrs ago, we logged 9 dives in 5 days, and ears were red, swollen and sore - almost infection-like. Didn't hurt whilst diving tho. Going to St Lucia in 3 weeks and plan on diving quite a bit in the 10 days we're there, and don't want a repeat of sore ears.

Any advise appreciated.
Regards,
Nic

Just one possible explanation:
Could it be that you are clearing too hard? Clearing too hard can cause mild trauma. My girlfriend's ears were killing her on her first few dives. I quickly figured out that she was blowing too hard while clearing, and was mildly injuring herself after a day of diving. We addressed this problem, she has never had a problem with her ears since.
Just a suggestion, hope this helps, or at least narrows down one possible explananation.

could be - in fact a very likely cause.

Prior to that vacation, I had only logged about 15 dives so i may have been overcompensating a bit. The last couple years we've had our kids with us and not done day after day of diving. I haven't had ear problems since then but i just thought it was because we weren't going diving day after day. After thinking about your comment it makes more sense that the reason my ears haven't hurt in the last couple years is because i've become more confident and therefore not making the kind of mistakes i was then.

Thanks very much for your reply,
Regards,
Nic

Where exactly are your ears inflammed and sore?

If, upon medical inspection, it is your middle ear (inside the ear drum), then it is likely you have an equalization problem. Either failure to equalize promptly on descent, or by over-equalizing (blowing to hard).

If the soreness is in your outer ear canal, then it could be an ear infection...or it could be an adverse effect from the ear drops you have been using. Only once in 16 years did I ever experiment with using ear drops (to prevent infection/protect the ears) and it lead to me getting a double ear infection (the only time I ever had one).

Some of the ear drops marketed to divers can serve to strip the protective wax coating of the ear canal (leading to increased risk of infection) or may directly irritate the lining to the canal.

I steer clear of ear drops now.... rinse my ears with fresh water following diving...and lubricate them with a drop of olive oil if they feel dry or itchy.

mostly the outer area; to the touch, the canal somewhat as well. There may have been somekind of an infection as well because I remember it being hot to the touch. I used just a normal ear drop brand that I used on my kids when they have sore ears once we were done our dives for the day.

Since then, we've only done maybe 2 dives in one day then taken a couple days off, etc. So not doing repeat dives day after day the way we were on that trip. Guess I'll find out next month in St Lucia - there for 10 days and intend to do a couple almost every day.

Nic

Because you're a new diver, I'll assume that it isn't a an outer ear infection, and that you're suffering from the cumulative effects of mild barotrauma. There isn't any real cure except time, but the cause is always poor equalization.

You've heard the phrase "equalize early and often" - well, you're not clearing early or often enough. To give you a comparative example and help you grasp how often, consider how often you equalize during an elevator ride in a tall building, or during an airplane's final descent from a few thousand feet. By comparison, pressure changes about 1,000 times faster in the water so an airplane descent is the equilvalent of a few feet of diving.

You also need to understand that equalization becomes harder as the pressure difference grows, because the higher external pressure tends to collapse the Eustachian tubes the same way sucking too hard does a clogged soda straw. After only 4-5 feet (about where you feel the pressure difference) methods like swallowing or wiggling the jaw lose effectiveness and only pressurizing methods like the Valsalvo Maneuver are required. The pressure difference after about 9 feet (you're starting to feel some pain) is high enough to make the Valsalvo Maneuver ineffective.

Like most new divers, you're waiting too long to start equalizing, so are trying to play catch up during the descent, thereby delivering a number of small insults to the tissues surrounding the ears. These lead to swelling and pain later on.

The solition is simple start equalizing immediately in the first few feet, and in lieu of forcing the Valsalvo Maneuver, go back up a few feet when needed to for easier equalization.

In short, If you can't equalize as fast as you descend, descend as slowly as you can equalize.

Actually, I remember in the earlier dives I did, I was Constantly equalizing. Could it have been a mild trauma - maybe because of trying to equalize with every breath. I remember thinking that I never felt 'clearing' so I kept trying and trying.

I do have to decend slowly - it drives me nuts, cause I feel like I look like a real newbie. Others can drop in 40 feet of water in seconds, and it takes me a minute or minute and a half - but I've come to accept that thats just the way it is for me. I have to take my time and just go at my own pace.

I find with depth changes that I still need to take my time and not rush things. For example, if we are diving around the outside of a wreck in 55 ft of water then accend to 40, then back down to 55 I still have to take my time even then. My ears just won't allow me to go any faster.

Nic

Use your fins more and your ears less.

Garrobo - not sure what you mean - can you explain?
Thx

NicW:

Actually, I remember in the earlier dives I did, I was Constantly equalizing. Could it have been a mild trauma - maybe because of trying to equalize with every breath. I remember thinking that I never felt 'clearing' so I kept trying and trying. Nic

Click to expand...

Again assuming it's middle ear barotrauma, common to new divers, you might be trying too hard. Under everyday conditions (in air) your ears do a fine job equalizing without any conscious effort on your part. It's a totally automatic operation and you rarely ever notice any pressure differences. When you do they resolve with a swallow or yawn.

Try to duplicate this during your dives, with slower descents which allow the natural process of swallowing and jaw motion to maintain equalization. It doesn't hurt to do a gentle Valsalva maneuver from time to time, but if you find yourself doing it constantly, it's because your waiting too long and playing catch up.

One thing I do occasionally is partly (or totally) remove my regulator so I have full range of lower jaw motion during a descent. This seems to help on really bad days.

OTH hand - you might also be inflaming your ear canal by overuse of drops. If you feel you must use an ear rinse, avoid drops with alcohol which cause dryness, and mix yourself something milder like 50% vinegar in water with a tiny bit of oil or glycerin.

Lastly, one way to tell barotrauma from ear canal irritation is by paying close attention to how it feels. Barotrauma usually causes a feeling of fullness in the ears, and sounds are often distorted as if in an echo chamber. Ear canal inflamation usually causes only pain or itching without the other effects.